Display hook



P 1934- R. M. WILSON 1,972,505

DISPLAY HOOK Filed March 22, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet l NVENTO ATT ORNEY- R. M. WILSON Sept. 4, 1934.

DISPLAY HOOK Filed March 22, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY- Sept. 4, 1934- R, M WILSQN 1,972,505

DISPLAY HOOK Filed March 22, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 4, 1934 DISPLAY noon Robert M. Wilson, Jackson Heights, N. Y., assignor to United Fruit Company, New York, N. Y., a. corporation of New Jersey Application March 22, 1933, Serial No. 662,008

4 Claims;

This invention relates to hooks particularly adapted for the display of hands of bananas. It is a primary object of the invention to provide a a simple unit, readily attachable to a convenient support, for the elfective display of the bananas in such a way that they are easily accessible and are kept in a sound condition over a maximum period of time.

In the marketing of food products it is a matter of utmost importance that they should be attractively and conspicuously displayed. An article which is appealingly brought to the atten-.

tion of the purchasing public at the time purchases are being made is sold in greater quantities than similar articles not so attractively or prominently displayed. This is particularly true with reference to natural foods, such as. fruits and vegetables, which are not extensively advertised under definite brands. Recognizing this situation the distributors of various food commodities have long sought for the most effective means of placing their products before the public. Bananas present a number of peculiar problems from the standpoint of merchandizing. They are comparatively easily bruised and, therefore, can not be left on a hard supporting surpresenting a pleasing eifect. The support should be sufficiently sturdy to permit one or more bana- 40, nas to be removed from the hand without other wise disturbing it. A rather serious consider-a tion is the inherent weakness of the averagehand of bananas at approximately the center of the crown. This is due to the manner, commonly employed, of removing the hands from a bunch of bananas. A cut is taken into the crown of a hand. at each side of the stalk, thus forming a s hooks embodying a still different means; of attach V notch in the crown and producing a weakened section at the apex of the notch. If the handso cut is not properly supported there is danger that it will break in two at this point. An objectof the present invention has beento overcome this difiiculty by providin a two point support for the hand, one at each side of the weak point. This arrangement, furthermore, enables the effective display of two separate halves of hands of bananas, giving them the appearance of a single, whole hand. For this purpose I have developed a special double hook construction which may be economically produced in a variety of different forms, each particularly adapted to ce'rtain special circumstances.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will more clearly appear from the detailed description of certain illustrative embodiments 52 which will now be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective viewof one formof hook embodying features of the present invenion.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a card holder adapted to be applied to the hook.

Figure 3 is a detailed view in perspective 'show-' ing a modified construction for attaching the hook to a support.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the hook of Figure 1 applied to a support and showing the card holder and a hand of bananas applied to the hook.

Figure 5 is a frontelevation of the construction shown in Figure 4. a

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of hook havingsupporting prongs at both ends.

Figure '7 is a perspective view of a further modification embodying a different type of attaching means. a 8

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the hook shown in Figure 7 as applied to a support.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the invention.

Figure 10 is a view in side elevation showingthe hook of Figure 9 applied to a shelf in a somewhat different relation.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a further modification embodying a different means of attachment to a support.

Figure 12 is a side elevation of the hook of Figure 11 as applied to a support.

Figure 13 is a perspective view of another modified form of hook.

Figure 14 is a perspective view of a, further modification, and

Figure-l5 is a perspective view of a numberof way, as by welding or soldering atvarious points along the same or throughout their length, At its hands of bananas to and from the prongs.

forward end the member 10 is bent at an angle of, say, 45 to the shank to provide a flaring portion 12. The forward end of this flaring portion, in turn, is curled into a loop 13 of suitable radius and lying generally in a plane parallel with the axis of the shank and substantially perpendicular to the plane passing through the shank 10 and portion 12,. In a similar way the member 11 is provided with an angled extension 14, the forward end of which is curled into a loop 15 substantially in a plane parallel with the plane of the loop 13. The ends of the loops l3 and 15 are preferably tapered to provide points 16 adapted to more readily penetrate... the crown of a hand of bananas whenever necessary. These points are preferably so arranged as to be directed upwardly from the horizontal at an angle of approximately 35. A plane passing-through the pair of projections will then intersect the shank of the hook at an angle of approximately 35. While the invention is not restricted to the 31'.

I may be provided a threaded extension 17 forming a Wood screw attachment. Member 11 may conveniently be provided with an extension 18 bentsubstantially at a right angle to the shank of the hook and preferably parallel with the planes of the loop elements 13 and 15.

In order that a price tag or any suitable advertising matter maybe displayed in conjunction with a hand of bananas supported by the hook, a card holder, such as illustrated in Fig. 2, may

be employed. This may conveniently comprise a shank '19 carrying a looped portion 20 at its forward end for the reception of a card between the loops, and a flattened 8 formation at its opposite end, providing. an elongated slot 21, to permit. attachment to the display hook. In applying the card display member to the hook, the slot 21 will receive the portion of the shank of the hook adja centthe joint between the pair of members 10 and 11. It will be clear from the drawingsthat the connection between the members 10 and 11 will provide slight depressions on the upper and lower sides of the shank which will conveniently receive the portions of the wire of the card holder forming the slot '21. This construction is such :that the card holder will be firmly held by the 1 hookin such a way as to prevent relative turning. A convenient means for displaying a pricetag' is thus provided andit maybe utilized or not, according to the wishes of the user of the display hook.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and .5, the display hook of Fig. 1 is shown applied to a wooden support. the hook".

of slender neck portions 23, and fingers'24. In removing such a hand from the stalk of a bunch crown'frorn each, side,thus forming a substan tially v-Shaped cut 25, as indicated in Fig. 5,

A hand'of bananas is shown applied to As will be' understood, a hand of, bananas comprises a crown portion 22, a series It will be apparent that a weakened section is formed in this way at the apex of the V cut. It is for this reason, among others, that in accordance with the present invention support is offered to the hand of bananas at two points at opposite sides of the weakened section. It has been found desirable to form thehook elements 1 of the device in such a way as to place the projections 16 approximately 1 inches apart. This may, of course, be varied somewhat but it will be found that by so spacing the hook projections they may be made to enter the spaces between the necks 23 on an average hand of bananas so that the necessity of penetrating these necks is largely avoided. The projections may in general pass between a pair of necks at each side of the apex of the V out and enter a slight distance into the crown 22 of the hand. Should the spacing of the necks 23 be such that the projections '16 will not be alined with the openings between adjacent necks, one or both of the prongs will then need to enter a neck of one of the bananas. This, however, will have no harmful effect upon the fruit. Engagement of the crown at the two sides of the V-notch will afford a sturdy support for the hand of bananas in such a way that there is little or no danger of breaking the crown at the weakened section. Furthermore, it per mits the removal of individual bananas without disturbing the mounting of the hand as a whole on the hook. The bananas, by this arrangement, will be conspicuously displayed and will present an attractive. appetizing appearance as suspended from the hooks. While the curvature of the curled or looped portions 13 and 15 may be varied somewhat to suit particular circumstances, I have found that hook elements of substantially arcuate form, having a radius of between of an inch and an inch, are excellently adapted for. the convenient and attractive display of a hand of bananas. If pro-per materials are selected in the formation of the hooks, they may be made sufiiciently sturdy Without being made so bulky as to be. awkward and unattractive in appearance. I have found that a #8 size stiff wire, generally known as a liquor finish basic wire, is admirably suited for the purpose since it will support a hand of bananas without yielding or bending and at the same time is not cumbersome in appearance. I prefer to apply a cadmium finish to the entire display hook, although a galvanized finish or a non-corrosive finish of any other suitable charaoter, may be employed. Inasmuch as the card holder 19 carries very little weight, it may be conveniently formed of a #16 gauge wire, preferably finished in the same way as the hook proper. In Fig. 3 there is shown a different scheme for attaching the hook. to a suitable support. The 135- portions of the hook not shown may suitably be of the same construction as illustrated in Fig. 1. In lieu of having the wood screw attaching means, the modified device may be adapted for attachment to a metal support. For this purpose the member 10 may have an extension 26 provided with machine screw threads. This extension may, be passed'througha hole 2'1 in a vertically disposed bar or plate28 and may receive a nut 29 to clamp the hook in position on thesupport; In order to definitely prevent turning of the hook,

4 H the member 11 may conveniently be provided of bananas it is quite customary to cut into the I with an extension 30 parallel with the shank to be passed through an opening 31 in the support.

A further modification is illustrated in Fig. 6. 1

There is here shown-a double hook construction embodying two shank portions 32 and 33 joined by small, substantially semi-circular portions '34 providing an aperture 35 for the passage of a bolt or screw, or similar means, for attaching the hook to any convenient support. The shank portions 32 and 33 and the looped hook elements at the two ends of this construction may conveniently be of the sameconstruction as illustrated in Fig. 1. It will be understood that this hook should be attached. to a horizontally extending beam' or similar member so as to maintain the shanks32' and 33 substantially in a horizontal plane.

A form of construction readily adapted to be applied to and removed from a vertically extending'pos't, or the like, free at its upper or lower end, is illustrated in Figs. '2 and 8. The shank of this hook may as before be composed of a pair of parallel rods or wires 36 and 3'1. fhe hook elements formed at one end of these rods may be of the same construction as previously explained. At its opposite'end the rod 36' may be formed into an angular portion 38 constituting part of a square or rectangular loop. A similar extension 39 of the member 37 may be complementally formed to complete the loop. This loop may be of suitable size and form to be readily passed over the free end of a vertically disposed post 40. Preferably,

the loop formed by the'portions 38 and 39 will be disposed. in a plane at anangle of about 45 to the axis of the shank. A 'cross bar 41, formed by the outer end of the portion 38, may be conveniently received by any one of a series of notches i 42 formed in the rear wall of the post 40. When applied the hook will assume the position indicated in Fig. 8 in which it may conveniently sup port a hand of bananas in the same way as the hook of Fig. 1. 'Wheneverit is desired to remove or shift the hook it may simply be tilted upwardly at an angle of about 45 and then shifted along the post to any extent desired. If a post having a cross section other than a square or rectangle is employed, the loop portions 38 and 39 may be modified accordingly. The post and loop, however, should each have at least one flat side or should otherwise be provided with means for preventing turning of the hook about the axis of the post.

In Figs. 9 and 10 there is illustrated another type of hook which is particularly, suited for application to a shelf or counter or the like. At the inner end of a shank portion 43, similar to the shank of Fig. l, the pair of wires or rods may be bent at an angle of to provide a vertical portion 4A. Beyond this the wire may be conveniently spread apart to form an elongated loop 45 and this may be bent at a right angle to the portion 44 so as to be parallel with the shank 43. 'A

screw 46, or other convenient attaching means,

may be passed through the loop 45 to secure this type of hook to the upper or lower surface of a shelf or counter or the like. As shown, a hook of this type may be conveniently formed of a single piece of wire although the two sides could,

if desired, be formed of two separate pieces suitably secured together along the shank portion. An advantage of this construction, particularly when applied in the manner indicated inFig. l0,

. is that it affords an excellent display for a hand of bananas without taking up any shelf space or materially interfering with the access to the shelves. Neither the shelf to which the hook is attached nor the shelf below is rendered inaccessible.

largements 48 formed adjacent the inner ends of the rods, leaving a short neck of substantially the same dimension as the shank, the extreme outer ends of the rods being upset to provide another enlargement, as indicated at 49. A pair of washers or discs 56 may be mounted on the neck between the enlargements or projections and may be spaced sufficiently to receive'between them the wall of a supporting member 51. For the pur pose of applying the hook to the support, the latter may be provided with one or more bayonet slots 52, the upper portions of which are large enough to receive the discs 59 but the lower'portions of which merely receive the narrow neckbetween the discs so that the device will be suitably clamped upon the support. While, as shown, both of the rods forming the shank are passed through the discs 50,this may be modified, if desired, to pass only one of the rods through the discs while the other rod may then be bent to form an extension. similar to portion 18 of Fig. 1 or 30 of Fig. 3.

Should it be desired to support the hooks from a horizontally extending bar or beam, they may be conveniently formed int-he manner shown in Figs. 13 and 14. In Fig. 13 the device is shown as'including a pair of looped hook elements 53 suitably disposed to present their prongs at an angle of between, say, 20 and 45 to the horisontal. The looped portions, which are preferablyspread apart to the extent indicated in connection with Fig. l, are formed at the ends of angled portions 54 extending toward an intertwisted shank portion 55. Above the twisted shank portion a pair of loops 56, adapted to slide over a bar or beam'5'7, may be appropriately formed. These loops, as shown in Fig. 13, may be said to be formed in series. The entire device, as shown, may be conveniently formed from a single piece of wire twisted and bent in the manner indicated. In Fig. 14 the construction is similar, insofar as the formation of the hook elements 58 and the twisted shank portion 59 is concerned. The loops 60, however, of this construction are formed somewhat differently. They may be said to be formed in parallel, the construction preferably being such that a portion 61 joining the lower portions of the loops will lie beneath and parallel with the supporting bar 57. Provision of the portion 61 in this manner will definitely pre vent tilting of the hook due to the weight of the bananas, which might occur if the portion 61 did not extend beneath the bar 57.

Another scheme is'illustrated in Fig. 15. This construction is particularly adapted for joining together a series of the hooks into a chain which may be supported at one end by a portion of a cabinet, or the shelving, or the like, in a store andat its other end may be engaged under a ledge of a counter or the like. The hooks may in general be similar to the type shown in Fig. 1, having a shank portion 62. The attachment end of the hook may have the two rods forming the shank flared outwardly at any convenient angle, say 45 to the shank, thus providing angled portions 63 the outer ends of which may be curled to form eyelets c4. These eyelets should be spaced the number of the devices may be joined in the man- 1 ner indicated in Fig. 15. The chain so formed may extend horizontally between two fixed supports or it may be inclined at a convenient angle from a support to which the uppermost eyelets 64 are secured to a point'where the lowermost hooks 65 may be engaged under a suitable ledge.

scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

, What I claim is:

1. A display hook for hands of bananas which comprises a shank having a pair of closely associated rod-like members joined together along their length, said members being flared apart adjacent one end and curled to form a pair of spaced hook elements, and means fixedly secured to said members at the opposite end of the shank for detachably securing the displayhook to a support, said means being so constructed and arranged as to provide for detachment from the support by sliding the means with relation to the support. g

2. A display hook for hands of bananas which comprises a pair of spaced hook elements arranged in substantially parallel planes, said elementshaving prongs adapted to enter between the necks of pairs of adjacent fingers, a shank portion formed by inter-connected, integral extensions of said hook elements, said prongs being bent toward said shank portion and arranged at an angle of approximately 45 tothe axis of said shank portion and being spaced therefrom a sufficient distance to provide for the ready introduction of the crown of a hand of bananas, and means extending beyond said shank portion for retaining the display hook on a support with said shank extending substantially horizontally and with said hook elements arranged below the shank. i 3. A display hoo-kfor hands of bananas which comprises a pair of spaced hook elements arranged in substantially parallel planes, said elements being curved over an'arc of more than 180 and having prongs'adapted to enter between the necks of pairs of adjacent fingers, a shank portion formed by inter-connected, integral extensions of said hook elements, said shank portion being spaced from said prongs a sufficient d is tance to permit the ready introduction of the crown of a hand of bananas between them and means extending beyond said shank portion for retaining the display hook on a support with said shank extending substantially horizontally and with said hook elements arranged below the shank. v v

4. A display hook for hands of bananas which comprises a pair of parallel, straight, rod-like members secured together to form a shank, article supporting means integrally connected with said members, means associated with, said shank for attaching the hook to a support, said rod-like members being so connected as to form longitudinal depressions on opposite sides of the shank adapted to receive an auxiliary support having a slot for cooperation with said depressions to retain said auxiliary supporton the hook.

- ROBERT M. WILSON. 

